So if you couldn’t tell, I’ve been on something of a Dresden Files reading binge lately. I’ve been travelling a bit lately, but finished reading Grave Peril (Urban Fantasy 309 pages) by Jim Butcher tonight.

I think I might talk about some spoilers in this review, so if you haven’t read any of the Dresden Files books and you don’t want me to ruin the story for you, you should probably stop reading. You have been thusly warned.

This book introduces the Carpenter family, and specifically talks about Michael and Charity. There are other members of the family mentioned, but none of them by name. Michael is a knight of the cross and he has one of the three holy swords in order to provide him the tools and ability to fight the forces of evil. One of the key differences between Harry and his fight and Michael with his fight is that Harry fights the forces of darkness while Michael fights the forces of evil. Sometimes, the two are the same, and sometimes not. Michael often is less than thrilled about Harry’s methods of combating the forces of evil, but he works with Harry anyway because they really are on the same side. I think the reason this difference and this friendship really stood out to me was because it shows how people who are absolutely opposites can actually be incredibly similar. I liked the idea of their friendship overcoming all obstacles and how they both knew each other well enough to know each other’s character strengths and flaws and to always take care of each other, even after and when things got super rough.

Susan Rodriguez and Karrin don’t have very extensive roles in this book, but this book also introduces Thomas and Justine. So while Susan and Karrin may not have extensive roles, they do have critical plot development points. Karrin gets stuck in a nightmare and Susan spends most of her time throughout the book off screen, but participating in key parts of Bianca’s plan to kill Harry and start a war with the White Council. Thomas is an outcast, just like Harry, and they form a mutual bond of “let’s try not to get killed.”

Overall, I think this installation of the Dresden Files is a little darker than the previous books. The torment of the souls that Harry witnesses with Micky Malone’s soul and the barbed wire surrounding it and the Red Court Vampires were all really well done descriptive paragraphs. I’d give this book a three on my rating scale. I’m likely to read it again and I’m glad that I own it.